In our spotlight on Business report.

The East Coast answer to Silicon Valley is in Princeton.

That's where the governor, tech and state leaders marked their first step today in launching the state's first formal hub for artificial intelligence to put New Jersey at the forefront of an industry that sparks as much worry as it does wonder.

Ted Goldberg reports.

We are the first generation of humans to create machines that can make decisions that have always been made by people.

We need to ensure that we don't let the future down.

Microsoft President Brad Smith urged caution and optimism towards artificial intelligence at today's A.I.

Summit at Princeton, comparing its wide ranging impact to that of the printing press.

Smith's alma mater is in the process of building an AI hub, working together with the Murphy administration.

I think the creation of an AI hub requires that one bring a community together, bring a state together, bring people together.

And when it comes to A.I., one of the things I've learned is that is a formidable challenge.

Smith and Murphy say the Garden State could lead the way in building ethical A.I.

following new Jersey's entrepreneurial past.

Thomas Edison Look to New Jersey found 35 acres in Menlo Park and created the first and most important research lab, not just in the United States, but in the world.

We are a state that has cultivated one of the most talented workforces in the entire world.

We have a New Jersey, more scientists and engineers per square mile than anywhere else on the planet.

And we are a state that has an unparalleled track record when it comes to unleashing game changing inventions.

While Princeton professors have studied A.I.

for decades, President Christopher Ice Gruber says the field has exploded in recent years, making now the time to build that hub.

This hub presents an extraordinary opportunity for us to come together to make bold investments that will positively impact the region and the state, as well as the nation and the world.

We're coming together to think ahead about one of the most positive and promising and potentially disruptive developments in human history.

Murphy says A.I.

is already making a difference in Trenton, simplifying the permit process with DEP and helping families find tax relief.

We want our state government to be a catalyst for bringing together innovators and leaders.

Like many of you here today, to unlock a new century of hope.

From discovering new drugs and medical treatments to developing new personalized educational.

Tools, this is really a way to develop new treatments to give doctors and surgeons new tools.

So we will live longer, so will help healthier outcomes for everyone.

Olga Troyan Skyla has taught here since 2003.

She says, I can help process huge amounts of data and help diagnose diseases or the likelihood that you'll get one.

We can really start linking every mutation to what it actually means in terms of possibly, you know, predicting whether I have curly hair and you have straight or whether this is something that's really critical to understanding that I might have be at risk for early onset Alzheimer's.

And how do we develop drugs that can actually address this?

Trojan Skylar says A.I.

won't replace doctors or surgeons.

It'll help them.

Other jobs could be at risk as A.I.

becomes smarter and a bigger part of our everyday life.

In Princeton, I'm Ted Goldberg.

NJ Spotlight News.